FOOD;
Poached Peaches, No Cream

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Published: July 4, 1993

POACHED peaches make a superb low-calorie summer dessert -- provided you leave off the ice cream. Since France produces some of the best peaches in the world, it is hardly surprising that French chefs have come up with some of the best ways to cook them: in wine.

Georges Blanc of La Mere Blanc in France poaches white peaches in cabernet sauvignon and serves them with a syrup thickened with raspberry puree. Raymond Blanc (no relation) of Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons at Great Milton near Oxford, England, cooks peaches in white wine with slices of orange and lemon.

Roger Verge, owner of Moulin de Mougins in the South of France, uses a heady mixture of red wine and port, flavored with black pepper and bay leaves. All these desserts can be made ahead of time and served at room temperature.

The actual time for cooking peaches depends on their ripeness and size. You can tell if a peach is cooked by looking at the stem end. If it is not cooked, air from inside the stem will bubble out.

Once the bubbles cease, the peach is cooked. It is very important not to boil peaches; they should be gently simmered so their flesh is not damaged and their syrup is clear.

When Mr. Verge was a child, his aunt used to poach peaches in red wine and just before serving she added a generous glass of cassis to the syrup. He wasn't permitted to eat the fruit, but he was allowed to taste the syrup, into which he dipped a great many ladyfingers.
Peaches Poached In Red Wine With Pepper
Total time: 30 minutes
1tablespoon black peppercorns
1 cup port
Peel of 1/2 lemon
1 vanilla bean
6 bay leaves
1/2 bottle red wine such as Cote du Rhone or pinot noir
2 to 3 tablespoons honey
6 ripe peaches.

1. Place the peppercorns in a square of cheesecloth and tie securely with string. In a large saucepan, combine the port, lemon peel, vanilla bean, bay leaves, wine, pepper sachet and bring to boil. Stir in the honey and remove the saucepan from the heat. Add more honey if necessary. Cover the saucepan and set aside.

2. Half fill large saucepan with water and bring to boil. Plunge peaches into boiling water and let them sit there for one to two minutes, then rinse them under cold water and peel them. Place them in the warm wine over medium high heat and bring to simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and cool.

3. Remove fruit from syrup and place it in shallow bowl. Pick out bay leaves and stick them in fruit at stem where leaves would be. Cut the vanilla bean into six segments and place one in each peach to make a stem. Set aside in a cool place, outside the refrigerator, until ready to serve.

2. Place the peaches in a single layer in a casserole. Add the water, wine, sugar and vanilla pod and cover with the orange and lemon slices. The liquid should barely cover the fruit.

3. Cut a round of wax paper the same size as the casserole and make a small hole in the middle. Bring the fruit to a boil, then skim any foam that rises to the surface.

4. Lower the heat so one single bubble breaks at the top, then place the wax paper over the top and simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the peaches cool in the syrup.

5. Remove the peaches from the syrup with a slotted spoon. Slip off their skins. Place the peaches in a glass bowl and top with the orange and lemon slices. Strain the syrup over the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least six hours.

1. Combine wine and seltzer in a medium-size nonreactive saucepan. Add sugar, lemon and orange peels, peppercorns and cinnamon and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain the syrup and then refrigerate until chilled.

2. Puree the raspberries in a food processor. Strain the puree into a bowl and set aside. When the cabernet syrup is cold, stir into the raspberry puree.

3. Peel and pit the peaches. If they are very ripe, they should peel easily without blanching; otherwise blanch them and remove their skins. Cut the peaches into even slices and divide them among four large round wine glasses. Taste the wine syrup and add more sugar, lemon juice or seltzer to taste. The syrup should be quite thin. Pour the syrup over the peaches and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Note: This is adapted from "The Natural Cuisine of Georges Blanc" (Stewart, Tabori and Chang). The original version of the recipe calls for fresh black currants, which are often difficult to find in the United States. If you can obtain them, add two-thirds pound to the wine syrup to infuse for five minutes before straining. Press hard on berries when you strain them to extract as much juice as possible.